(1) TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to containers of the type used for packaging, shipping and inventoring goods in bulk. More specifically the invention relates to containers which are collapsible after they have been emptied and stackable in either their collapsed or upright positions in order to reduce the spaced required for them to be shipped or stored.
(2) DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
In recent history, various economic factors have motivated manufactures of goods to keep inventories of raw materials as well as finished goods to a minimum thereby avoiding the waste of expensive floor space and lowering the cost of doing business by reducing the amount of inventory sitting in the plant at any given time. As a result of this motivation, containers for shipping, storing and inventoring raw materials as well as finished goods have been developed which are capable of being stacked one upon another in either the upright or collapsed positions for shipment or storage.
Collapsible container assemblies for use in packaging shipping and inventoring goods in bulk are well known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,320,845 issued to Waller on Mar. 23, 1982; U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,467 issued to Friedrich on Dec. 13, 1977; U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,381 issued to Friedrich on Nov. 25, 1986; German Patent No. DE 3500427 Al issued to Friedrich; U.S. Pat. No. 4,591,065 issued to Foy on May 27, 1986; U.S. Ser. No. 022,996 filed Mar. 6, 1987 on behalf of Foy; U.S. Ser. No. 288,634 which is a divisional application of Ser. No. 022,996 filed on behalf of Foy; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,647 issued to Gyenge et al on June 23, 1987 all disclose collapsible containers including molded plastic bases having four side walls extending vertically upward from each side of the base. Further, all of these prior art patents disclosed means acting between the adjacent side and end walls for preventing relative movement therebetween. However, problems do exist in the prior art while the container side walls are rapidly moved from the collapsed to the upright position with respect to the interlocking of the flanges on the adjacent side and end walls. Many times, they do not mate properly requiring an operator to specifically and precisely position the adjacent side and end walls such that the interlocking flanges engage. Further, once nested, the interlocking flanges of the prior art still allow some relative movement of the adjacent side walls especially when the containers are heavily loaded.
Presently, collapsible containers of the subject invention are often employed directly adjacent the assembly process. More specifically, many times erected upright containers are disposed in close proximity to each other on a conveyor means adjacent the end of an assembly line for receiving newly manufactured goods or at a point along the assembly process and containing inventory or work in process. Further, collapsible containers are often disposed in close proximity to each other during shipping and at other times. However, a problem arises in moving the side walls from an upright position to a collapsed position when a container becomes empty but is still in close proximity or adjacent another container. This is because, typically in the prior art, latches are disposed on the side walls and accessible only from the outside of the container for releasing the latches to allow the walls to collapse. When the containers are closely juxtaposed with respect to one another, it is very difficult to disengage the latches.
Other problems exist in the prior art with respect to these side walls nesting efficiently upon one another when the container is in the collapsed position such that the container may support other containers stacked thereon without failure due to the resulting loads. Further, the bases of the collapsible containers in the prior art have been known to fail due to the ever increasing loads as the container are employed to ship and store relatively heavy goods.
The subject invention overcomes all of these deficiencies in the prior art in a very durable, relatively light weight and extremely versatile collapsible container.